Sarah Slean, The Baroness Redecorates EP

Sorry for being scarce, my few but loyal readers. Well, at least I think you're loyal. Belts have been tight in these parts, so I haven't had the graft to keep up with everything I want to write about. For awhile, I was thinking about simply calling it quits rather than leave this thing open with nothing happening. However, we're back for at least one more ride around the block.

If you've been paying attention, you already know that I'm a huge sucker for women musicians that arm themselves with pianos. During my searches for new music to review this year, I stumbled onto a performer I had never heard of, Canadian native Sarah Slean. Unfortunately, someone at her record label has a vicious hatred of America, so her albums aren't released here in the USofA. Poo. That roadblock thus standing in my way, plus the fact that I was too stupid to simply visit the online store at her website, I never ordered The Baroness, her offering for 2008's list of new releases.

So, many months pass since I, like a bonehead, forget to buy The Baroness, instead wasting the money that would have been better spent on good music at worthless bars in my boring hometown. I spot a myspace bulletin from the Sarah Slean page, stating that a limited availability EP of b-sides and unreleased material was to be released within a few days of the post (December 9th, to be exact). The EP would only be available as a digital download, or as a CD sold at live shows and in small quantities at the online store. I hate it when artists do this; they put together a small release of songs that weren't widely available to begin with, and then only sell it at live performances. I notice this is done primarily by musicians that never tour anywhere near me, leaving me with the option of either buying it from some online scalper that marks up the price to double original sale, or resigning myself to never owning a physical copy and bootlegging the damn thing.

So, at some late hour December 8th, I created an account at sarahslean.com/store. By 12:05am December 9th, my order was placed for The Baroness Redecorates. By Saturday, it had arrived.

I can't say the packaging is anything extravagant. The cardboard sleeve method of CD packing seems to be cropping up everywhere, but this is ridiculous. You'd think they could have at least given it a double sleeve, inner and outer, for protection. Aside from women with pianos, I'm also a big sucker for fonts. The 1920's/1930's art deco sort of font that adorns the cover is quite nice, and very fitting for Slean's overall style and effect. But enough of this hooey, we're here to hear about music.

As we've already established, Sarah Slean, being both female and a pianist, typically gets lumped into the genre of "piano pop." However, what really makes her work stand out for me is how un-pop it is. From what I've heard on The Baroness Redecorates, she veers away from the popular stylings of contemporary piano-heavy music and focuses on more classic forms. I'm no expert on such styles, me being a lowly critic and not a music theory major, but I'm hearing all kinds of good stuff: "Parasol" is a lovably demented tango; "Compatriots" is a bewitching waltz. The amazing string sections on "Modern Man I &II," "Hear Me Out," and "The 'Disarm' Suite" break the assumption that she's writes music solely for the piano. Class and style seemingly come naturally to Ms. Slean, and I'm entirely enticed and swept away to a alternate 1920's imaginary world. I love her singing voice, and her songwriting is excellent. The music is wistful, romantic, dramatic, and occasionally absurd.

Now that we've got the praise out of the way, I can't say for sure if this is an ideal place to start for the Slean neophyte. Sure, the music is great on all levels, but bear in mind that The Baroness Redecorates is a collection of b-sides and other tracks cut from The Baroness. The very title implies that this EP is significantly different from the album with which it shared recording sessions. There stands the possibilty that these tracks were cut from The Baroness because they simply didn't fit in with the majority of the songs in any way. Since this is my introduction to Ms. Slean's music, I have no idea what the rest of her catalog sounds like, and how this compares to the majority of her work. I feel as though I've been given a glimpse into another world, a fantastical realm where art deco never left and all that can be seen is beautiful with the right touch of style, but my vision is blurry because of an impacting opera glove that sent my glasses flying across the room after I made a saucy comment regarding an elegant lady's elegant dress's neckline.

Sorry, lost my place there. The Baroness Redecorates is a right treat, exquisite in every sense, made of pure elegance. Since this is an EP, it comes with that criminally short sensation associated with EPs of higher quality. I can only say I'm thirsting for more, and will no doubt sooner or later venture further into that unknown realm of Sarah Slean's musical beauty, hoping this sample was but a taste of what's to come and not a radical oddity.

Unfortunately, the sarahslean.com store is out of copies of The Baroness Redecorates (sold out in under a day, so I heard), so if you want the CD, you're going to have to either hunt for it on eBay or make a drive to Canada to see one of her live performances.



Sarah Slean's official website and myspace

Quick Notification

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM WAITS!

Pointless Earworm Post

I have a Nickelback song stuck in my head.

Please, make it stop. Preferably without the use of firearms.


Yeah, there was no other point to this post. Deal with it. I'll put up something next week.

Sarianna & The Swell live video "Self-Serving Sympathy"

Yeah, I've been ganking videos off band's myspace pages out of pure laziness. You've heard my reasons for sporadic updates, they're completely valid, so pipe down.

Here's someone introduced to me several years ago. Last time I met Sarianna in person, we were all drunk and I was vomiting all over the place. Truth be told, I don't remember much of that night other than strobe lights doing terrible things to my eyes and forcing a run to the men's room. It was a wild ride. And her band wasn't even performing that night!

Anyway, here's a recording of Sarianna & The Swell performing "Self-Serving Sympathy" at Cousin Larry's in Danbury, CT.



For more inflammation, please visit Sarianna's myspace page, find out where she and her band are playing next, and maybe even buy a CD (something I have yet to do myself; sorry, I gots no monies).

I'm Not Dead Yet...

... I feel happy! I feel-*thunk*

Yes, I know that updates have been few and far between over here. What can I say? The economy is rotten, and my budget has been in the toilet since long before this blog was ever created.

In the spirit of the holiday, I trust you are all picking out your favorite creepy-gothic-whatsits off the shelf and playing them loud and proud.

Here's to hoping for an improvement in my finances in the near future, because there is tons of stuff that I want to review but just haven't had the scratch for.

In the meantime, here's a little something from NYC's post-punk cult favorites, The Hunt. They put on a hell of a show, so definitely check them out.



Okay, that video is a little cheesy, but shut up, they're an awesome band. See how many independent NYC band members you can count that made guest appearances in that video.



[The Hunt at myspace]

A Quick Retrospective: Swans, The Great Annihilator

First, I would like to state that this entry is late because of computer difficulties due to people in the world being scumbags that do terrible things to other people's computers. Things are sorted out on the hardware end, but unfortunately the budget end is still a tad out-of-whack, so we're going to reach back to the bygone 1995 for today's quick n' dirty coverage.

Swans. I know nothing about the band. A friend loaned me The Great Annihilator, and I am now hooked. I am wishing I had found out about this band back in 1995, when this album was released, so as to have many years and cherished memories. Had I listened to this over a decade ago, I might have been inspired to take up a guitar in my teens instead of now; this is the sort of music I want to make.

Trying to pigeonhole this album is a pain. It varies between outright disturbing art-rock to something industrial to amazingly bright-sounding guitar blasts and so on. Despite it's variety, it works amazingly well as a whole. If anything is wrong with this album, it's the length; The Great Annihilator is too damn long. But in any event, I recommend it highly. It has become one of my new favorites and never stops being a mind-bending experience.

Some favorite tracks: "I Am The Sun," "Mind/Body/Light/Sound," "My Buried Child"


Official Swans website

Okay, I fess up...

... I have nothing for today. Sue me; I'm broke and don't like bootlegging stuff just so I can review it.

Watch this video instead. It's my friend Frank's band Revel Hotel.





Revel Hotel's myspace page.
Frank's music blog, in case you've missed the million other links I've posted to it.

Lower Class Revolt compilation, vol. 2

The Lower Class Revolt is a collective "committed to bringing to the forefront the gifted and the talented via an organization that provides the physical and digital distribution of music related projects, the organizing of live performances and the production of merchandise that helps promote an artist’s ambitions." Or at least that's what they say on their website. Part of this light-shining on gifted artists is the release of a series of compilations showcasing those that fit this group's idea of blast-your-sock-off awesome. Thankfully for those of us on a budget, these compilations are given away as free downloads, presumably so we can go wild with what we're hearing and rush out to purchase the entire discographies of the bands showcased therein.

Unfortunately, I once again have the terrible sensation of picking on the wheelchair-bound leprous retard as I proceed to picking this freebie apart. I hate jumping up and down on free downloads with criticisms, but being free shouldn't absolve anyone from not putting forth the best effort.

Apparently, the people at Lower Class Revolt take the notion of "compilation" quite literally since all the tracks are combined back to back in the form of one huge mp3 instead of giving us a folder with a pack of separate music files to arrange as needed in our media players. This causes a problem in that those of us who zone out for a few moments and loose track of where we are in this audio file, thus having no clue as to who we are listening to when we finally prick up our ears and take notice of what is being fed into our headphones. This also makes it a tad difficult to cut up your own mix from these songs since you'd have to first download a song editor and then laboriously hack this thing up into its separate songs; no one has the patience for that.

The picture file that can be snagged from their website doesn't feature handy runtimes, so you get to play that old game of "Guess What Song You're Listening To" that I thought died with the era of cassette mixes and smudged handwritten labels. This also makes it difficult to skip to favorites since you have no idea when a song ends and the next begins. If I'm listening to music on my computer, I would like to at least pretend I'm in the 21st century and be able to skip directly to a desired song at a moment's notice instead of having to scan through the whole damn thing.

Also of concern is the errors on the "back cover" image. Ignoring the one spelling error, there's also a factual error. Carcrashlander, one of the standouts on this release, is stated as to having their contribution "Killingsworth Frost" originating from a self-titled EP. After some brief research, I find they have released no EPs at all. They have one eponymous album, but the song featured here isn't on that album; instead, the song comes from their second album, titled Mountains On Our Backs. Factual issues don't instill much confidence in me.

The other standout from this release is the song from Rykarda Parasol, "Of Thunder and Light." However, to be completely frank with you, it's not even her strongest work. Songs she has on her myspace page are better. I was already interested in what she's doing, so this compilation has done nothing to further my fascination with Ms. Parasol's art.

Otherwise, I found a number of these songs to be alright, but nothing so spectacular as to blow me down the hall. A compilation is intended to get people interested in new bands they may have not heard otherwise, and you do so by offering up at least their good songs, if not their best. Few things here grabbed me, and the aforementioned annoyances with the formatting drive this down to an unrecommended release.

I'm going to put in more work than I should have to, and list each band featured here, a brief pithy comment on their contributed song, links to their myspace pages, as well as a quick assessment of whether I think they should be pursued or not. Unless otherwise noted, pretty much everything was fairly standard indie rock.

Citay, "First Fantasy": why do I feel like I'm being smacked about the head by Square Enix's collective music department's giant wang? Maybe a subtle association of song title to video game series, but they've got that spacey J-RPG sound to a fine art. Goes on too long. Recommended if you like sprawling atmospheric tripped-out guitar.

Rykarda Parasol, "Of Thunder and Light": Not her best song, but still quite good. Dark and seductive. Recommended for fans of PJ Harvey, Nick Cave. I'd probably kick down many doors to see a live performance.

All Smiles, "Tired Jaws": What the hell is that slapping noise in the background? Nice acoustic opening, but not exactly knocking me out overall. Point in fact, more putting me to sleep, but that might be the desired effect. I'm not going to follow this one.

Shuteye Unison, "Tomorrow's Five Horizons": Not bad indie/shoegaze, but not exactly cooking me up. I like the distortion to it, but it's only mildly grabbing my interest. No opinion at this time.

Carcrashlander, "Killingsworth Frost": A bit heavier than the rest of this compilation. Mildly interested; would probably check them out at a live venue.

Evacuee, "Oneononeness": More indie rock that doesn't blow me away, but with the addition of a voice that is slightly annoying. Not interested.

Harbours, "No Souvenirs": I like the organs on this track; strong 60s psychedelic feel to these guys. The jury's still out, but I'll consider them in the future.

Kelly Blair Bauman, "I See Stars": Light-hearted, bouncy, and breezy. I kind of like this one, and would consider seeing him (yes, it's a he) live.

Kid Mud, "Joey Crown": Kind of like it, I think... maybe? Can't come to a conclusion. Actually, yes I can come to a conclusion: they sound like Modest Mouse. "Nuff said.

Form and Fate, "Tracking, south of 60 degrees latitude": Instrumental, moody, sprawling. Good counterpoint to the comp's opening instrumental. Very post-rock feeling. Like the opening track, this goes on for bloody forever, or at least feels like it. Considered for further investigation.

Maybe this particular brand of indie rock isn't my thing, but most of this compilation just bored me. Only half was mildy interesting, with one that rose above, but I was already interested in that artist to begin with. Net change of zero. And I'm not hanging on to an mp3 that I have to scan through trying to avoid the songs that I don't like to get to the ones I have a passing interest in.

While I'm all for getting exposure for the smaller bands, this compilation doesn't succeed. I wish the best for all these groups, but this release is just flat-out a pain in the neck. You'd be better off just listening to the handfuls they throw up on their myspace pages rather than wasting hard drive space with this. In short: good idea, mediocre execution. I might look into the next Lower Class Revolt compilation, but this hasn't exactly grabbed my attention that well.



Lower Class Revolt's website where you can download this compilation, form your own opinions, and come back here and call me a cheap and opinionated bastard.


Also of important note: due to all problems I've babbled on about in the past (negative cashflow, lack of interesting music coming out, chimpanzees falling from the sky), I'm considering shifting to a once weekly format until such time as things improve. Expect posts to be moved to Wednesday until further notice. Special posts may appear on an irregular schedule.

Pool of Frogs and A Black China, Live @ Oasis 9/18/08

Once again, I forgot to bring a camera to a live performance. I hope your imaginations work well, or you feel like plumbing through these bands' myspace pages for photos from that night.

Anyway, I had heard that friend Johnnie Wang's band A Black China was going to be playing last Thursday, so I decided to clear my calendar well in advance and hit New Paltz since I hadn't seen them play in something like 6 months or more.

I arrived at Oasis about 7 minutes to 10pm. Since the bands were not scheduled to perform until 11, I figured this gave me about an hour to sit around, drink myself at least mildly stupid, and at least entertain the fantasy of chasing attractive young women around the room. As it were, I hadn't gotten halfway through my first beer before members of both bands came in with a rather glorious mountain of gear. That parade of equipment continued for about 10 minutes.

First band up was Pool of Frogs. First thing to note is that they were pretty loud. They started with a very spacey intro, then moved into a high-energy alt/punk/folk/rock sort of thing. Note "high-energy": these guys were so active during their hour or so set you'd think they were blood relatives of the Energizer bunny.

This live performance was the first real experience with this band; since I'm not a fan, I can't give you a run down of songs played. When I first heard them, I thought to myself, "This is the sort of music Weezer would make if they had a set of balls among them." But, I know precious little about Weezer, so perhaps my first impulsive comparison isn't entirely appropriate. The first song played resonated with me; nothing ever changes indeed (it should be on their myspace, go have a listen when done reading). Pool of Frogs is highly erratic, wild, and fun. The players couldn't sit still while playing, which I like since so many bands consist of members who stay in one place throughout a show, as if their feet were held in place by cement. The bass player was jumping off his amp, the drummer kept climbing past his kit up to the frontman's microphone; they just would venture wherever the hell they wanted to at any moment. Spontaneity of performance is a good trait to have. They made good use of some strategically placed feedback, and when singing backup, they knew how far away to be from the microphone to give a good effect.

I found their performance to be immensely fun. I think they had fun too. Pool of Frogs enjoys what they're doing, and it shows. For the approximate hour they performed, they were wild and goofy and just plain had fun. I especially like the Lite-Brite positioned on stage spelling out their band's name. It was a quite a fun show, and highly recommended.

Following Pool of Frogs was A Black China. I originally encountered this band through multiinstrumentalist Johnnie Wang. Last time I saw them perform, it was probably at the beginning of this year and they were still a three-piece band at that point. Since then, they have added another member. The current linup is: Jamal Ruhe (guitar/bass/keyboards/vox), Johnnie Wang (guitar/bass/keyboards/vox), Matt Grande (drums/vox), and Jesse Towey (bass/guitar/keyboards). During their performance, everyone alternated guitar and bass duties, with Johnnie handling keyboards.

Like Pool of Frogs, A Black China began with a spaced-out introduction, very mellow and not particularly suited to the late-night drunken bar set as the din of shouted conversations blended into the music in strange ways. There performance was marred by a classic problem with Oasis: the microphones needed to be turned up. It was difficult to make out vocals over the instruments. I don't know why exactly this is, but more than a few performances at Oasis are like this. Acoustic qualities of the room, equipement, who knows.

Aside from that, their performance was downright awesome. Their songs are a nice blend of romantic singer-songwriter, shoegaze, and, when needed, a solid thrash. There's a lot of wide-ranging influence in their music. They really brought out the thrash with the second-to-last (initially last) song. They were talked into doing one last tune, and brought out this soaring, sprawling, spacey trip into weirdness that lasted for something like 10 minutes (I think; I didn't time it precisely).

All in all, I'm glad I went out that night. Both these bands are quite awesome in their own ways, and I recommend catching them at you soonest convenience. Check their schedules and get out for a show.

Pool of Frogs website and myspace
A Black China website and myspace

Okay, I procrastinated, so sue me.

Alright, since by this time of day it's evident that I'm not posting anything of significance, I just going to push the fact that bands A Black China and Pool of Frogs will be playing at Oasis Cafe tonight (that's September 18th) at some ungodly hour. Come out and have a drink with us!


Oasis Cafe
58 Main Street
New Paltz, NY

(in case you couldn't see the flyer to the right)


A Black China myspace page
Pool of Frogs myspace page

A Little Bit of Nostalgia

That clunking sound you're hearing is the sound of me rummaging around my music collection trying to figure out what to post today since my budget is still AWOL and there isn't much interesting coming out in the next week or so (feel free to prove me wrong or try to excite me about something you have in mind). As such, you can expect some actual content next week, but for now, trip down memory lane.

Music videos were a new thing when I was growing up. Point in fact, MTV is younger than me by about a month (yeah, totally dating myself right there... somewhere between "too old to pass as a youth" and "fossilized"). When we moved when I was about 8 years old, we lost our connection to music videos and television since the new house was in the midst of a fantastic nowhere with no cable. No more music videos for me until about 6 or 7 years later when the family decided on getting one of those big, old-fashioned satellite dishes that now is used as a rust collector.

In the era before we moved, I remember sitting in front of MTV quite frequently. I can't remember many of the videos I saw back then, but a few stand out. One of those standouts is Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing." Maybe it was the computer-generated animation (one of the first music videos to feature such animation), or the awesome opening hook, or Sting's falsetto in the beginning and end, but I never could forget that song and its video.

Anyway, here's the video for your perusal. Hope you enjoy it and fondly recall days of lying on the rug in front of the TV.

Revenge of the Double Feature: Wovenhand, Ten Stones and Raveonettes Remixed

One complaint about Wovenhand: either there's a space between "woven" and "hand," or there isn't. It's as simple as that; make up your damn mind.

Wovenhand is one of those bands that my friend Kevin came across and immediately latched on, force feeding the music down all his friends' throats. My usual response to this sort of behavior is to tell whichever friend has done this, "Yes, I'll check it out," then leave the mp3s they send me to sit on my desktop for a couple months before deigning to give them my attention for even a minute. This time, I waited about three days before getting around to listening to what I was being force-fed; this is one of the rare occasions where I go back for seconds instead of passing it off to some forgotten file folder on my computer.

I'm having difficulty describing this in a way that would be accurate to what I'm feeling. It's like taking a bourbon-tanked horse ride through a dusty dream landscape where song manifests reality, compatriots are hard to come by, and inner passion rules as king. Trying to express what I'm feeling while listening to this is incredibly difficult. Powerful music is what you get on Ten Stones. If strong songwriting is what you're looking for, then this is your album.

Picking favorite tracks isn't very easy either. "The Beautiful Axe" opens the album the way an album opener should. But, "Horsetail" really grabs me too. And "Iron Feather," and -but- -graaa! Can't pick favorites! The only track I'm not really wild about is "White Knuckle Grip." For some reason, probably the very blues rock beat to it, it reminds me of a George Thorogood song, at least at the beginning. But the well-placed accordion (?) saves it, raises it, and makes it quite good actually. Comes off a little like The Birthday Party, in a way. "Quiet Night of Quiet Stars" is a calm and breezy little thing that calls about a vaguely "Girl from Ipanema" vibe, if it were from a dark sunset in a Terry Gilliam film (okay, I have no idea what that was meant to mean either; it sounded good at the time, so we're running with it). "Kingdom of Ice" carries a great epic tone. I especially like the untitled bonus track at the end. You know what? The whole album is great; just shut up and get it already.

Although Wovenhand is typically filed under alt-country, I'd say Ten Stones straddles the line between alt-country and a thrashy rock noir. Fans of Crime & The City Solution, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Carla Bozulich would do well to check this out. It especially draws comparison to Crime & The City Solution.

Otherwise, Ten Stones is damn awesome. Just off a first listen, it rocketed into my top ten for the year. Subsequent listens will probably drive it into the top five. To answer the question regarding whether or not a recent release makes me interested in backtracking an artist's prior releases (including other associated acts), I'd put down a yes vote. Yes, I will be going back for seconds. And most likely thirds.


Wovenhand website and myspace, and label site for direct ordering of Ten Stones

=====================================================

As previously mentioned in my review of The Raveonettes' latest full-length, they are releasing a series of digital EPs this fall. The first is a freebie, and consists of three remixes from Lust Lust Lust. Unfortunately, the remixers in question did everything that makes me hate remix albums. The 80KIDZ remix of "Dead Sound" is nothing but a lightly-sampled-from-the-original techno sh*tpile. The only thing recognizable is a clip of the vocals that do that annoying and incomprehensible stuttering crap that plagues the whole techno genre. Nic Endo's variation on "Aly, Walk With Me" strips it of all that made it good in the first place and replaces it with a minimal beat. Most of the lyrics are chopped out, and there's this 8-bit video game sound effect that keeps jumping in. Trentemøller's treatment of "Lust" does it no favors. Instead, it drags on for 7 minutes of masurbatory and repetitive techno-beat.

All in all, I could have done without this remix release. Free is the appropriate price, but I suppose some out there are incredibly excited about these remixes, and is no doubt enjoying them very much. They can enjoy them all they want; I'll stick to the original album myself.

The Caretaker, Persistent Repetition of Phrases

I was introduced to The Caretaker (one of various projects of British electronic musician James Kirby) by friend and fellow internet clogger, I mean "blogger," Frank (also know as Frankie Teardrop in some circles). He has the fantastic habit of finding the most interesting things to dump on the back of my head like a nail-studded baseball bat, and The Caretaker is one of those things.

Our instant messenger conversation, regarding The Caretaker's prior release A Stairway to the Stars, went thusly:

[23:34] me: whoa
[23:34] me: this
[23:34] me: this is right up my alley
[23:34] Frank: yeah dude
[23:34] Frank: what track?
[23:34] me: "cloudy since you went away"
[23:34] Frank: that's my favorite.
[23:34] Frank: i knew you'd love it.
[23:36] me: like picking up alien transmissions from ages ago; i can imagine the greys listening to something like this millenia in the future out past the milky way
[23:36] Frank: well put!

I suppose you could say The Caretaker made a reasonable impression on me from the moment I was introduced to his music. A Stairway to the Stars even inspired a poem out of me (I'm not posting it here, so don't ask). This year's release under the name of The Caretaker is titled Persistent Repetition of Phrases and is released on the Install label rather than V/Vm Test Records like most other Caretaker releases.

Now, I've always found the notion of reviewing an ambient album somewhat bizarre. What can you say about such music, either as an album or a genre? It set the atmosphere very nicely? Ambient was never really my thing, so perhaps I've been missing something from the beginning.

The Caretaker is not your average ambient musician though. For those not previously introduced, Kirby takes old recordings from the 1920s and 30s and samples, mixes, layers, etc. to create his material. The result is an often eerie and unsettling echo of previous eras, as though a group of ghosts had taken your to a jazz club or out ballroom dancing.

Persistent Repetition of Phrases follows the same style as previous releases. I presume the "repetition" in the title comes from the fact that many particular movements are recycled over and over again in a track, a different sample per track, throughout the nine tracks of the album. However, this only adds to the spectral atmosphere of the album. Echoes from beyond and all that. Quite unsettling in some ways, but overall, exquisitely beautiful. Many of the sounds are muddled together in such a way as to create a mood of drifting off into that other time.

My favorite track is most likely "False Memory Syndrome," but that's not saying much considering that all of The Caretaker's songs are so washed-out sweeping you away and tend to take the listener's attention with them. For a few moments, I had wondered why Kirby seemed so obsessed with the notions of memory and amnesia in some of his prior works; now I know.

Of course, some critics will be so inclined as to say, "You paid fifteen bucks for a disc full of static?" And I will reply, "Yes, yes I did." Because the static crackle that runs through just about every track is part of the effect, the composition, setting the feeling that what we are listening to is, in some way, very old. This will no doubt drive some listeners up a wall, but I love it and recommend it highly.

The digipak seems like it wasn't quite cut evening, but there's not much to be done about that. I love the cover painting by Guy Denning. Dark, inky, all the colors and shades I love and a nice match to The Caretaker's music. (See this painting and find out more about Guy Denning at his website.)

Personally, I enjoyed A Stairway to the Stars more, but this is equally worth listening to and acquiring. Unfortunately, Persistent Repetition of Phrases is one of the few releases from The Caretaker that isn't available for free download. To put the icing on that particular and peculiar cake, Persistent Repetition of Phrases is also a limited pressing of 500 copies, so if there is any doubt as to whether you might not love it to death, just get it anyway. The bizarre echoes and floating tones and omnipresent static crackle will surely impress friends and loved ones (or at least convince them you're somewhat loonier than they thought). This is amazing material, and well worth the price you pay.

For those curious or skeptical, I can't push enough the fact that many of The Caretaker's albums are free to download (or you can purchase CD on all and vinyl for a select few), so you really have no excuse to not give his at least some of his efforts at least a passing glance.



The Caretaker at myspace and online

What Happened to New Release Fever?

Maybe it's just the area I live in, but it seems like I'm the last person in all of Orange County, NY that gives a damn about Tuesday.

Wait, Tuesday? What's so special about Tuesday?

Well, for those of you who aren't aware, Tuesday is the day that new releases come out. It's the day of the week that music nerds drool for as they wait in anticipation of getting their hands on the latest albums. Or at least they used to, before the invention of the internet and the ability to simply bootleg it, then yawn and dismiss any queries "Did you pick up the latest Britney Spears album?" with a wave of the hand and some variation on "I downloaded it; maybe I'll get it next week."

Did peer-to-peer filesharing kill Tuesday, or is there no one left that gives a damn? I remember having to hit several different stores when Grinderman came out last year; only one had it out in a display that read "New Releases." The others either had it buried somewhere in the shelves (disorganized as usual), or simply didn't have it out. On Tuesday, that's inexcusable; new releases should be at least on the shelves, properly organized and labeled, if not set up in their own sections advertising the fact "HEY DUMMY! THESE ALBUMS CAME OUT TODAY!"

I remember one local store that used to have a midnight release special. They didn't do it every week, but at least they did it once in awhile, when a new album's release was actually anticipated and people got into a foaming frenzy to get their hands on it. At least I think that's what they did; I never had the money to go out on midnight release nights. I guess a car and driver's license would have helped.

Anyway, I can't help but feel that people aren't excited about picking up new releases anymore. But why? Is it because they aren't listening to the radio as much anymore? Or has bootlegging killed the thrill of camping outside a store, waiting for the doors to open so you can make a beeline for the new music so hot it threatens to burn the building down? I don't know. But I do know, that even in this age of excessive communication, we aren't aware of all the new things that have hit the market. The Caretaker has had a new album out this year that I didn't know about (expect a review of that when I get my grubby mitts on it); an SPK album that was only available on vinyl and long out of print was reissued on CD this year and I never heard boo about it.

Who knows. Maybe I'm just complaining about something ephemeral, something I can't nail down the exact point of simply because I have a blog and a bottle of booze and feel the need to further clog the intertubes.*



*There's a funny story about some congressman or legislator of some kind who was babbling on and on about the internet having "tubes." It made no sense, but was funny nonetheless.

The Verve, Forth

Once again, I am reviewing a band that I remember from high school but never picked up on at the time. You can also add The Verve to the list of bands and artists that are making the decade-plus return to recording, since their last album, Urban Hymns, was released in 1997. Approaching The Verve with only "Bittersweet Symphony" under my belt, I went into this review with the question: Does Forth make me interested in backtracking and partaking of their back catalog?

First impressions from the first two songs did not leave me particularly impressed. They were somewhere between something dancey, psychedelic, indie, and alternative. Not bad, but not knocking me out of my chair. On a second listen, opener "Sit And Wonder" fared better. "Rather Be" sounds like they're trying to be Coldplay. Point in fact, "Judas" sounds like a Coldplay song too. But I suppose there is limited room to work in the realm of contemporary alternative, so someone is going to sound like someone else sooner or later. Or maybe Coldplay is trying too hard to sound like The Verve's older recordings, which is entirely possible since I have never heard any of their prior albums.

"Numbness" comes off as a smokey basement barroom sort of song: dry, plodding, strained... just the way I like it. Unfortunately, it feels like it's much longer than it is and thus leaves the listener numb before the next track. However, it's also where the album picks up for me, since the next track, "I See Houses," is actually a rather fascinating, sprawling, spacey track. Still sounds like Coldplay though (or vice versa, as discussed above). "Noise Epic" kicks up the tempo to something a bit more rocking and is the only track I'm really enjoying at this point. I like the distortion, the changes in tempo within the song, and the spaciness of the thing, but when they say "epic," they mean it: "Noise Epic" runs over eight minutes. "Valium Skies" is appropriately named; it's trying damn hard to put me to sleep. I can't say much about the rest of the album except it drags on mercilessly.

For a alternative/pop/rock/thing, they make a major mistake, one of the worst mistakes any band can make: the songs are too bloody long. Admitted, this is nothing new, as my research on Wikipedia shows that they tend towards longer tracks (Urban Hymns was 75:51 overall; their first release, A Storm in Heaven, is the only album by The Verve under fifty minutes). Accuse me of having the attention span of a coked-up hyena who drank six pots of coffee, but I really think they should have pared this thing down by around ten to fifteen minutes. The best albums leave the listener wanting more rather than having us stare at the counter, wondering, "When will it ever end?" Forth fits into the latter category. Between 35 and 45 minutes is a good album length; anything over is most likely going to lose your listeners. At least they didn't make the mistake of having too many songs.

Notes on album art and packaging: I like cloud photos, so I liked the cover, but if you don't like cloud photos, you will find it boring/pretentious/some other mean words. No lyrics in the liner notes. Also, the case is one of those annoying cardboard sleeves. Not the kind that have another sleeve inside to house the disc, just a bifold chunk of cardboard with the CD slipped into a flap on one side.

To answer the question: not really, no. Maybe I will backtrack to their prior albums, someday, just for the hell of it. The problem being that, if their prior albums sound anything like this, I will probably never listen to them. Forth is not a bad album by any standard; it's just not mind-shatteringly awesome. It is not a force to be reckoned with. It's good, but not great. I foresee this being something that sits on the shelf, forgotten until stumbled upon, listened to, and then put back into limbo.



The Verve's website and myspace

Quick & Lazy Review: The Bird & The Bee eponymous 2007 album

The Bird and The Bee: The Bird and the Bee

Meh.

First impression: What the sh*t am I listening to? It's far too breezy and sunny, far too saccharine, trying to be a light psychedelic pop tossed with a breed of indie that doesn't seem to fit together that well.

The songs can't seem to stay in one vein for more than 30 seconds at a clip, changing style frequently. It's not that what I'm hearing is bad, it's that they jump too rapidly and without a novel radicalism that would make it interesting.

Some people go in for the synthesizer that sounds like 8-bit video game music, and while I do go in for that sort of thing myself sometimes, I can't say I'm enjoying it here. Also, enough with the tambourine bullsh*t. At times, they come off like trying to be The Doors; at others like they're trying to be a Nintendo Entertainment System. Sometimes, trying to be both at the same time.

Seriously, ENOUGH WITH THE PSEUDO-60s SH*T.

In some ways, it reminds of me of last year's Marry Me from St. Vincent, only Marry Me was much more competent with the breezy indie pop thing.

This may grow on me someday, but not right now. Tonight, I find it more annoying than enjoyable. There may be promise for this group in the future, but The Bird and The Bee isn't inducing me to follow their career that closely, if at all.



The Bird and The Bee online and at myspace

The Raveonettes, Lust Lust Lust

Late post because A.) I had to go out and get something to review and B.) I wasn't planning on that afternoon nap being more than an hour. Shows you what I know.

I get the feeling The Raveonettes have been listening to alot of Jesus and Mary Chain while gearing up for Lust Lust Lust since much of the album bears the a similar sound to that wildly distorted blast from the past. According to my reading, they claim influences from girlpop groups such as the The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las, to more experimental rock outfits like The Velvet Underground, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. The influence shows, but instead of being grossly derivative, it comes off as being a celebration of the styles that made them what they are.

Confession: I remember about 6 years ago when "Attack of the Ghost Riders" was released as a music video, watching the black and white campy two and a half minutes and thinking that it wasn't that impressive. Not my thing. Maybe I was watching at my college campus' cafeteria, a place notorious for not having the sound turned on half the time (or just being drowned out by the massed hordes), so that wasn't a fair shake. I have since repented, broke down, and gave this a shot.

First impression was good, borderline exceptional. They are wild fuzzy and overdriven like The Jesus and Mary Chain before them, but with a twist of sexy and pop that makes for a smooth finish (why am I describing this like a mixed drink?). First track "Aly, Walk With Me" is a groovy, fuzzed-out distorted monstrosity that is darkly sexy and became immediate favorite of the album. Next track "Hallucinations" features a building intro keeps me in suspense in the best way. "Lust" evokes a sound like a crossover of Western ride-into-the-sunset with 60's psychedelic pop. The inspiration of JaMC once again makes itself evident in the sparkle of "Dead Sound," and for the next two tracks. "Expelled From Love"has a kind of doom-ridden repetitive sort of drone, once again calling that build-up that I liked about "Hallucinations." "You Want The Candy"is that glorious mix of girlpop Ronettes/Shangri-Las inspired material with the fuzzy guitars that I love so much, and the vibe continues into "Blitzed" and "Sad Transmission." The ambiance changes with "With My Eyes Closed," shifting to something slower, clearer, and mellow, only to shift again"The Beat Dies." That goes to a slow-dance pop echo distortion that sweeps me up. Bonus tracks "My Heartbeat's Dying" and "Honey, I Never Had You" do the blend thing again.

If I have a single problem with the record, it lies in that the songs are too bloody short. At a runtime of 47:12 (US version with two bonus tracks, one of which is a European LP-only bonus), it should feel much longer than it does. Most of the songs are around the three minute mark; while I have no problems with brevity, I'm just getting into them when they end and move to the next track.

The album art has this two-color 3-d look, like it was supposed to come with 3-d glasses (In the UK, it did. According to wikipedia, the album didn't chart in the UK because freebies are verboten and disqualify an album from the charts). Liner notes are a single sheet, folded in quarters, with lyrics for everything but the two bonus tracks. Nothing special, aside from the 3-d effect, but not lacking anything either.

I'm going to put this down as a recommended album for this year. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the experience, it has enticed me to backtrack and pick up their previous recordings. NME informs us from a June article that they plan on releasing three EPs later this year (one each for the months September, October, and November), so I suppose I'll be picking those up as well.

While it is quite a good record, it's not exactly blowing my skull to little bits. Recommended, hell yes; top ten, probably; top five, probably not. But get it anyway. Chances are you'll not hear that many blends of 60s girlpop and distorted lo-fi rock, and this is the one to pick up.



The Raveonettes online and at myspace

Pamela Sue Mann, L'oeuf

As I said on Tuesday, I made an impulse buy last Thursday before attending the show at Oasis. Something about the album caught my fancy in an indescribable way. Maybe it was the jet black hardcover book-style case, or the French title on the front and nothing on the back but a picture of the artist. The only idea I had as to what I was getting into was the review clipped from Chronogram that was taped to the first copy on the shelf. Plus, the name sounded nice: Pamela Sue Mann. Usage of middle name is considered pretentious in some circles, but if it sounds good, why not go with it?

From what I've read, Pamela Sue Mann is a local artist residing in High Falls, married to Gerry Leonard (who produced L'oeuf and has performed with David Bowie, among others(note some of the guitar work reminds me of Heathen, and there's a reason for that)), and apparently she did a live performance last October in Rhino Records. My question: where in Rhino? The place is a glorified shoebox, a hole in the wall with no place to set up a musician of any variety, unless you duct-taped her to the ceiling. Also, L'oeuf was assembled from songs written and recorded over the past couple years, but only released in 2007. It is her second album.

The first song (and title track) is probably my favorite since it's got a nice fuzzy guitar driving the track. The intro to "ivy" grabbed me. "... is a lifetime" also nabbed me from the start and stood out for being driven by loops and distortions, unlike most of the album. "Amen" is superb. However, I can't say L'oeuf really blowing my mind. But that's not really what it's supposed to be doing, is it? No, this is meant to sweep me away on a gentle breeze. Admitted, with the Chronogram review, I was expecting something a bit more distorted and guitar-driven, but I am not disappointed with what I wound up with as opposed to where my hyperactive imagination was trying to take me before even listening to the CD.

It strikes me as being in a similar vein as various ethereal wave musicians blended with a kind of girly-girl singer-songwriters. At times, this sounds kind of like a watered-down Cocteau Twins with less distorted and soaring guitar work and Lisa Loeb on vocals. Other times, more like a more gothic romantic-fashioned straight-up singer-songwriter. Not to say that any of that is bad, but people with no tolerance for higher pitched female voices will find this ear-splittingly annoying. The rest of us will tell the complainers to be quiet; we're trying to enjoy the music.

Already noted is the album packaging, fashioned as a hardcover book with full liner notes and lyrics in a really nice handwriting and script fonts. All photography is black and white; point in fact, those are the only colors to appear on this album. Nothing but class from front to back. It matches the music very nicely. Supposedly, the disc is enhanced with a bonus video, but I have not checked that out at this time.

What L'oeuf is, from where I'm standing, is beautiful. It's sweet without being artificial, a touch dark as needed, and a whole lot of gothic romantic. L'oeuf is perfectly pleasant, enjoyable, and more than worth listening to. It's worth getting lost in, at least for awhile. Catch that breeze and float off.



Pamela Sue Mann's myspace page that hasn't been accessed since June of last year, and her website that doesn't look like it's been updated since about the same time.

album cover image ganked from CDBaby's Pamela Sue Mann L'oeuf page

The Dan Brother Band, Live At Oasis, New Paltz 8/14/08

On a steady diet of rum-and-Cokes last Thursday, I saw some pretty wild music. The evening started out pretty mellow: I drove to New Paltz out of pure and utter boredom, looked around the town's much-beloved independent music store, made an impulse buy (wait until Thursday for more on that), went to the bar, had a beer, walked around town to see what was happening, went back to the bar, had another beer, and pondered just where I had heard the name "Dan Brother Band." They were the band playing at Oasis that night, and the name sounded dreadfully familiar. So I stuck around to find out who they were. As it turns out, the name was familiar because I had seen a myspace bulletin regarding the theft of Dan Brother's guitars and gear sometime last year. Not one to let that rather infuriating hurdle stop him, Dan has since replaced his lost equipment and continues to fight on.

The evening was bizarre on some notes. In a night-long fog of beer and rum (for a change, this blog lives up to its name), I saw strange men acting strangely in sunglasses and tie-dye t-shirts, had discussions outside with random college acquaintances regarding proper dental care, and discussed Max Rebo with the bassist's wife, a fellow underpaid English major.

Enough digressions; let's get to the music. The Dan Brother Band, as far as local blues rock goes, is exemplary. I've seen numerous local bands in this genre, and these guys are truly cut from better cloth. Dan Brother is a quick and vicious guitar player as well as a melodious singer. Dan Brother: the f#cker can shred. An unfortunate tendency in some of the younger blues rockers is attempting to sound like they're about 50 and smoke three packs a day; Brother doesn't do that. He may be sounding kind of rough, but that's what the genre calls for.

The band is tight. They work really well together and bring the rock. Timing is spot on, solos don't go longer than they need to, everything falls into place beautifully. One particular item of note was a bass solo (courtesy bassist Jason Upchurch) that featured elements of "Smooth Criminal," which was really wild.

Brother also appears to be a heck of a Hendrix fan. The band performed "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," and "All Along the Watchtower," all in a Hendrix style. I don't mind much because Hendrix was and still is phenomenal, and I'm glad that Brother and company feel the same way. If anything, the number of Hendrix-styled material, be they covers or covers styled like other covers, displays the potency of the band's playing, and also links me neatly to my next point.

While I feel that The Dan Brother Band is the best local blues rock band I've seen, I also feel that they could benefit by expanding their horizons. There's a large number of blues rockers in this area; the arena is overflowing, so perhaps changing gears a bit would be a good thing. Set themselves apart from the crowd. Experimenting never hurts, and they're too damn talented to hang around this stagnant pool. But even if they keep going the way they are now, they still put on a great show. I usually don't go in for this kind of music, and they kept my (somewhat hazy) attention for most of the set. No other blues rock band in my life has retained my attention, drunk or not, for almost three hours.

By 1:40am, the audience seemed to have thinned. The only people by then who appeared to still be enjoying the music were the gay couple who ruled the dance floor. I was beyond tired and left twenty minutes later during the band's second break. I wish I could have stayed until the end of their set, but time and long drives were not conducive to staying an extra hour. Not once in the time I was watching them did they ever falter, screw up a song, or lose their energy. I can only assume they continued with the same fervor they started out with and left the crowd pleased.

I'm glad I stuck around for the music based solely on that vague recollection of stolen gear. The Dan Brother Band is incredibly adept at what they do, so if blues rock is your thing, I'd recommend checking them out.



The Dan Brother Band is:
Jason Upchurch: bass
Rob Curtis: drums
Dan Brother: guitar/vocals

The Dan Brother Band at myspace

photo: Dan Brother on the back porch of The Corner Stage, 368 E. Main Street, Middletown NY
photo by: Michael Bloom

/Remind me to avoid $1 rack drinks in the future.
/Also, remind me to bring a camera next time I check out live music; I wish I had some shots from the show to post here.

THIS JUST IN!

Ladies and gentlemen (all four of your), I have just seen an announcement that New Paltz favorite dreadlocked folk rocker whatsit collective NCM will be live in the WRRV studios this Sunday at 11pm Eastern. I don't know if they're going to be performing, or just being wiseasses, so get thee to a radio that night and find out.

Hudson Valley listeners can tune in to 92.7 or 96.9 FM, and everyone else can listen to the streaming webcast at wrrv.com. Yes, I know commercial radio sucks these days, but this is a local outfit, and I want to make sure they get some good ratings.

Now get on it!



NCM's website
NCM at myspace

Quick Hiatus

Rum-Soaked Review is taking a break to gather materials for future reviews. By that, I mean I'm going bar-hopping. Hey, musicians hang at bars, don't they?

See you all soon, and with new material.

Song Spotlight: "Doris Daytheearthstoodstill", by Future Bible Heroes

Okay, I have to admit that there's very little of interest (at least to me) happening in the world of music. If you want to prove me wrong, feel free to contact me with something new and exciting in your hands. As such, combined with my lack of graft, not much has been happening here at Rum-Soaked Review. Hard to keep up with the publishing schedule I have set for myself.

To counter this vicious onslaught of inactivity, I'm introducing a new feature: the Song Spotlight. I shall briefly discuss what I think about a single song rather than rant at length about a whole album. I've decided that Future Bible Heroes' song "Doris Daytheearthstoodstill" shall be the first subject of this feature.

While I am not enamored of most of Future Bible Heroes' 2002 album Eternal Youth, "Doris DayTheEarthStoodStill" stands out as a favorite song on its own merits. First of all, it sounds like a Caribbean beach party on the moon. Second, the title is just hilarious. The lyrics are also quite charming and imaginative.

You could argue that I'm a sucker for songs that put me in orbit with their unique sound. "Suede," by Tori Amos, also has this effect on me. "Doris Daytheearthstoodstill" is just a plain fun track featuring beautifully atmospheric music and a wit that is lacking in much of contemporary music. I recommend spinning this one a couple times and letting it transport your to outer space.



Future Bible Heroes website and myspace
If you like FBH, then you might be interested in other Stephen Merritt projects The Magnetic Fields and The Gothic Archies

Motion Picture Soundtracks

Motion picture soundtrack. Original sountrack, abbreviated OST. We're all familiar with them. The use of music as dressing for some lame summer blockbuster. I used to have many, since my primary interest in music in my younger days came from the incessant flow of movies my family dragged me to.

From where I'm sitting, there's two different approaches to the movie soundtrack. One is to view the music as its own unique and potent force that accentuates the events on screen (see above). The other is to treat the music as something to hold the attention of the viewer during a drawn-out, ridiculous, overly-expensive and just plain dumb car chase. Unfortunately, the latter approach seems to be the predominate method used by Hollywood. So many soundtracks are merely mixtapes of songs that didn't quite make it to "b-side" quality level. Rubbish that even the artist didn't know what to do with and was most likely glad to have sold to someone.

However, some soundtracks are damn good stuff. Tom Waits has done at least two complete soundtracks: One from the Heart and Night On Earth. I recently acquired the remastered edition of the One from the Heart soundtrack, and it was quite good. I wouldn't call it his best work, but it was nice. I am dying to get my paws on Night On Earth, but that is a bit rare and difficult to get ahold of. It's also one of the few Waits albums I don't have (hint to anyone that sees it and wants to get me a Christmas gift early). But alas, I digress.

The afore-mentioned One from the Heart soundtrack had an interesting approach behind it. Francis Ford Coppola told Tom Waits to write and record the music, then he'd make a movie around it. The movie went on to be a flop, but the soundtrack stood up against the forces of time. It has never been out of print (except the remastered version, which seems to be currently unavailable for the most part). An interesting aftershock of the pairing of Waits and Coppola has been in Waits making the occasional role in Coppola's movies (see Bram Stoker's Dracula for Waits turning the character Renfield on his head and making the character his own for all time).

Wendy Carlos blew many minds with the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange. The relatively new art of the synthesizer keyboard lent a powerful futuristic feel to the film. While not a movie, Mark Snow's music for The X-Files TV series enhanced the ambiance of the paranormal and extraordinary. Hum the theme in a supermarket and everyone will know what you're humming.

The only point I'm trying to make here is that motion pictures, as a conglomerate artform, should treat the music featured in them with more respect than they currently do. The movie is a mix of theater, music, writing, and technology. All too often, the creators of the average movie treat the art as so much filler, giving technology the center stage. Bad acting combined with bad music and bad writing equals the formula for bland trash that will be swept aside and forgotten by the end of the season.

But I suppose only true artists give a damn about making a work such as a movie more than the sum of its parts. A memorable work is made of more than CGI explosions and sound effects.

Commercial Radio's Rotting Zombie Wants Your Brains

I haven't listened to commercial radio in a long time. I gave the stuff up around the time I had the CD player put in the car. But there are some things I miss about tuning into various radio stations while driving, wandering around the house, and sitting in front of the computer.

Before the epidemic of the three-chord/power chord, idiot pop-punk virus, there used to be great bands on the radio. Tuning in brought great new bands that you hadn't heard before, induced you to pursue their music, turned you into a fan. Remember back when Soundgarden was in frequent rotation? When was the last time you heard Soundgarden coming from a commercial radio station? Hell, they play Temple of the Dog more than they do Soundgarden, or even Pearl Jam, these days. I, like many of you in the pre-internet, pre-iPod-glued-to-your-skull generation, first encountered many of my favorites via commercial radio. I remember staying up late one night with my headphones on and hearing this one amazing song that, to my shock and mystery, used piano as the lead instrument. Past my bedtime will forever be associated with "Spark," the first song by Tori Amos I ever heard.

Aside from the fact that today's youth don't seem to have bedtimes, it is no longer necessary to wait until odd hours when even God isn't awake to hear your favorites. With an internet connection, online music stores like iTunes (or bootlegging via peer-to-peer), and an mp3 player, any song can be acquired at any time. Where's the struggle? I have fond memories of tuning in and waiting for just that one song to come on, or the snowday requests called in to the popular alternative rock station (although at the time I wasn't hip enough to know that "alternative" was a distinct style that by then was nothing more than a buzzword to get people listening). We truly loved our music, and were willing to wait for it.

The variety of tunes was thrown together by lovable disc jockeys. Well, some of them were lovable. Some were huge jerks. But for the most part, that voice on the other end of the transmission that told us who we were listening to was almost a savior, guiding us towards new auditory journeys. And the jokes and ridiculous banter and all kinds of goofy promotions and games they'd play on the air. I remember the "playing the song backwards and seeing if someone can guess it game;" I was amazed at how many people guessed the same thing ten times in a row.

I guess what I really miss is what commercial radio used to be like. Before cookie-cutter pop-punk idiocy and mindless ego-drivel. Before technology made patience obsolete. Before the era of preprogrammed commercial slots that kicked the DJ off mid-sentence or cut off the beginning of the song. Before all the good DJs were replaced by computers run by someone miles away. Before commercial jingles and idiot blather that somehow passed as advertisements (anybody remember that "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it" malarkey? God, I can't ever remember what they were selling) became more important than the music. When they used to play a variety of tunes instead of running the same damn songs at the same damn times every damn day of the week for months on end. Before Clear Channel owned everything (and if Clear Channel doesn't own it, Cumulus Media does).

I won't miss any of that. Radio has done a good job of killing itself in the eyes of the discerning listener. Unfortunately, it's pus-bloated, vile-smelling cadaver doesn't want to stay dead. Point in fact, it wants to sit you down and gnaw on your skull for awhile, using bad soundalike music and annoying adverts to crack through the bone.

RSR's Equivalent of The Clipshow

This is the point when I realize I neglected my blog all day. So, with nothing better to write about, let's do a quick recap of what's been happening in music in 2008. Or, more appropriately, what I think people should be listening to.

The Mountain Goats continued their ridiculously productive discography with Heretic Pride. While in my review of this album, I dinged John Darnielle for his high-pitched and annoying voice, I will concede that this album and all its quirks has grown on me. I still maintain my reservations and withhold a full and unrestrained recommendation, but you could do a hell of a lot worse than checking this out. Another grower is Earth's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull. Droning sludge that evokes the Old West makes me want to slap iron and down whiskey from unlabeled bottles.

Nine Inch Nails wowed us with two releases thus far: Ghosts I-IV and The Slip. Also amazing is that these two releases went two entirely different directions with Ghosts running gleefully into new and exciting territory and The Slip walking ground so trodden we can navigate it blindfolded. Supposedly, the second part of Year Zero will be coming out this year at some point, but I really couldn't care less since Year Zero grew very tiresome, very fast the first time around.

The Kills, a band I had never heard of until this year, brought a pleasant surprise in the form of Midnight Boom, a release that is delightfully trashy and completely fun. As it currently stands, Midnight Boom is in my personal running for top album this year. Also released the same day was Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Etc.'s 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons. Unfortunately, I have yet to acquire this, but I have heard it was a disappointment from a friend with trusted taste in music. However, both Silver Mt. Zion and godspeed you! black emperor are known to cause great differences in opinion among their fans, so I reserve any judgments until I actually hear it.

Bryan Adams proved he will never grow up with his eleventh album of new material, cleverly titled 11, but I'll let you know the day I actually listen to this man's music and find myself enjoying it. I was subject to enough of his old tracks (thanks to my brother) that I could probably recite "Summer of '69" verbatim (not that it's a hard song to memorize). NO. NEVER AGAIN. BRYAN ADAMS IS BANNED IN MY PRESENCE. If you see a review of 11 here at Rum-Soaked Review, it's because someone gave it to me gratis; I would never spend money on this sh#t. Another one that I refuse to fork over cash for the sole purpose of tearing apart is Scarlett Johansson's abomination that for some reason required the songs of Tom Waits. Anywhere I Lay My Head may bring more people to the fold of Tom Waits worship, but those of us that are fans already don't need to deal with this.

It appears that 2008 was the year of reunions and releases long after the bands in question were thought to have drifted away on the wind. The B-52's, Portishead, and others all presented new material a decade plus after their previous full-length releases of original material, with mixed results. I have been recommended The B-52's Funplex, and Portishead's Third succeeds on some levels but deviates significantly from their original sound. Bauhaus' much-anticipated first album in a quarter of a century, Go Away White, was such a horrendous disappointment that I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I am not alone when I say that many wish Go Away White had gone away before even being released.

A group that seems to finally have grown into their own, The National, followed last year's sleeper hit Boxer with the short film and EP compilation set A Skin, A Night/The Virginia EP. The music CD is quite good and enjoyable as a compilation of b-sides and oddities, but the film served as a good introduction to a filmmaker that I now know to avoid in the future. While Boxer was a sleeper hit, A Skin, A Night succeeds at being just a sleeper. Ask me about how loud I snored.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds rocked our socks with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, a departure from the usual Bad Seeds production, but entirely welcome. This is another album that sits high on the list of best albums thus far on 2008. The only thing that could possibly unseat Dig, Lazaus, Dig!!! and Midnight Boom from their standings is if Tom Waits and Scott Walker sucker-punched us in the fourth quarter. I understand Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance fame has another solo album in the works that might be released this year, so that would round out a pretty potent top five in the Rum-Soaked Review books. Unlikely, but a man can dream, can't he?

Part of the problem here is that 2006 and 2007 spoiled us with some really great stuff. Grinderman (s/t 2007), His Name Is Alive (Detrola 2006 and Xmmer 2007), Scott Walker (The Drift 2006 and And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball? 2007), Tom Waits (Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards 2006), and others really set the bar high. It seems that Tuesday (release day in the U.S. for those not familiar) is lacking luster this year, and the next half of the year doesn't look promising. I can only hope that there will be announcements for things that really blow back the top of the head soon. Or, that something completely unfamiliar turns into that sleeper hit for this year.

There's also a large number of things I haven't gotten to yet. I've been meaning to tackle The Flight of the Conchords, The Black Angels' Directions to See a Ghost, Wire's Object 47, and others here and there. If there are things that are downright fantastic (or awful) that you feel should be covered, feel free to tell me about them. Depending on my cash flow at the time, I might actually get to them.

If you are in a band and would like to take the chances at a review, feel free to email, comment, whatever. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Revenge of the Remasters: Dead Can Dance from First to Last

Despite my hemming and hawing over the expense of the Dead Can Dance remastered hybrid SACD albums, I bought them anyway. Considering the prices came down since that moment of bitching, I can't really complain about anything. However, I will state that buying a band's almost-complete discography all in one shot feels really weird.

I don't need to go into detail about the quality of Dead Can Dance's music. Every album, even the ones I am not crazy in love with, displays a level of artistic attention that is sorely lacking in this era of Digidesign Pro Tools, mp3s, and a general lack of talent or creativity. As such, I won't be discussing the music itself; if you want reviews of the albums, there have been reviews floating around for the past two decades that you can read elsewhere. All you need to know is that I was in heaven playing these albums back to back all damn day.

The remastered "audiophile editions" come in reproductions of the original vinyl sleeves. These are pretty thick cardstock and feel as though they could withstand a larger degree of damage than the usual mini-LP style sleeve. All nine look absolutely beautiful. Brendan Perry and the people at 4AD really made something fetching when they made these, both the original art and the transition to this edition.

The CD sleeves came shipped in reusable outer plastic sleeves instead of shrink-wrap; this is either a move to reduce unnecessary waste and thus save dwindling landfill space or an extra barrier to keep your investment clean. Whatever the reason truly is is irrelevant since I happen to like the added layer of protection on my CDs. Having these thin LP mock-ups as opposed to the original jewel cases means all nine releases fit in a space on the shelf that would fit only four of the originals. For those of us with big music collections, this is a huge plus, but not if your CD organizer is designed solely for standardized CD cases sizes.

Since the sleeves are reproductions of the original vinyl sleeves, all the text on the back (where applicable) is in eye-strain font sizes. Thankfully, all tracks are also listed on the obi wrapped along the spine of each disc sleeve.

As to the music itself, compared to the mp3s on my computer, the eponymous album through to The Serpent's Egg are incredibly improved in sound quality, but that may be due to the fact that I've been listening to mp3s and not actual CD quality. I never had their first four or last albums, so my opportunities to make direct comparisons, CD to CD, is seriously hampered. To that end, I am limited to Aion, Into The Labyrinth, and Toward The Within.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not hearing much immediate audible difference in the remastered Aion versus the older CD version, and Into The Labyrinth's remastering only becomes apparent at "Tell Me About The Forest (You Once Called Home)". Toward The Within is improved, but the difference is very subtle for the most part. Perhaps the remastering was more for the benefit of the earlier material, or it is more evident on the SACD layer of the discs. Unfortunately, I don't have an SACD-capable player, and thus cannot take full advantage of these discs (yet). Should that change any time soon, I will let you all know what the difference is like.

Every band, no matter whether or not they are your favorite artist, inevitably does something to drive you up a wall, and Dead Can Dance is no exception. The Garden of The Arcane Delights EP is something that was never issued on its own CD until now. It was tacked onto the end of the self-titled album when that was released on CD, and most people have never heard it separately. The EP being issued apart from the first album is neat on a thematic basis, but charging the same for an EP of 4 songs at about 15 minutes total as for the other full-length albums is somewhat infuriating.

Their insistence to reproduce the original vinyl is taken to some ridiculous points, such as Into The Labyrinth, Toward The Within, and Spiritchaser featuring two inner disc sleeves when there's only one CD each (the original vinyl versions were split onto two records apiece). That took me a couple minutes to figure out. If they wanted to be that precise with their reproductions, why not issue it on two CDs as well?

My friend Frankie Teardrop's first question when he heard about these reissues was, "What kind of extras are there?" The answer: nothing. No bonus tracks, no previously unreleased material, dusty demos, etc., which will be a major annoyance to those that want that sort of thing with their reissues. The only major selling point is the fact that these are remastered and in hybrid SACD, which doesn't mean jack to many casual listeners (I suppose that's why this is the "audiophile edition"). However, Into The Labyrinth features two songs ("Bird" and "Spirit") that were on the original vinyl and apparently cut from the CD edition. While it's nice to see that particular restoration, if you are an obsessive Dead Can Dance fan you already have the assorted CD compilations that these tracks made appearances on.

My final approximation is that there's no sense buying them if you already have the original CD issues. Personally, I'm for the most part satisfied with what I've purchased, but that's more because I never had most of these albums. I was a late-comer to the DCD party, and most of these albums were out of print by the time I was introduced to this fantastic band. Plus, I intend to pick up an SACD-capable player someday to take advantage of the SACD capability of these discs and hopefully unlock the amazing sound contained therein. While these editions look and sound beautiful, I can only recommend them if you are obsessive about high digital sound quality, have the stereo with the necessary equipment, have the cash to blow, or don't have any Dead Can Dance albums to begin with. Even then, you could probably just wait until August and pick up the regular remastered CD editions, which will come packaged in super jewel cases (and no doubt lack the assorted silliness of these vinyl reproduction sleeves).



Dead Can Dance official website, myspace, and 4AD page
(photo snagged from 4AD.com)

Special Announcement: Help Out The Prids After Their Accident

For those of you not familiar with the ridiculously growing number of independent music scenes, you probably haven't heard of The Prids. Hell, I've never heard of The Prids. But they are friends of several bands that I like, so naturally I would eventually hear about them.

I wish I could have heard of them a different way. Maybe by catching them on tour, or a friend saying, "Check out this band; they are pretty cool."

No, no such luck. They were in a car accident in Fresno on Sunday. Tire blew out and they rolled. Everyone is alive, thank the maker, but they are tight for cash and need some financial assistance. Two people in the accident aren't insured, some of the injuries are what we ordinary people call "nasty" and the medical industry calls "expensive" (hell, hospitals charge you out the @$$ for everything), plus there's the difficulty of getting from Fresno back home to Portland.

This is where the fans come in. There is a PayPal donation site set up to help The Prids out. If you can spare some change to get these people patched up and on their way, please do so. Awesome independent rock can't happen if the artists are tied down with hospital bills.

Here's the donation link for those of you so inclined. If it's not working, you can send money by using "donate@theprids.com" in PayPal, or just go to the band website or myspace for a working link.

Nostalgia Factor: Singles

I remember reading an article in Blender recently (as in, within the last 4 months) about great blunders in the music industry. One of which is the slow death of the single.

I understand it began with the rise of CDs. Since it cost the same to print a full CD album as a CD single (more in fact, if the smaller 80mm CD were used... which makes no sense because smaller is typically cheaper), record companies decided to phase the single out. Why spend the same money to make a product that will not have as much return as you do a product with a greater return?

For those of you not familiar with the idea of the single, let me refresh you. A single is a short recording featuring something between one to four songs, at least one of which was drawn from an album released around the same time. The expression "b-side" comes from the vinyl single, in that the album track would be side A and side B would be extras that are often not on the album. The idea being that people could pick up the new top hit songs and try out a band they may have not heard before. It was a great way to get an introduction to a band's music without having to pay for a full album, and thus risk wasting money on something you may not like. It also allowed consumers to pack around their favorite hot new tracks without having to wait for them to come on the radio.

So, record companies decided to slowly phase this shorter format out. Personally, I never bought many singles, but I like the idea. It offers a primer to a band's work, as well as a collector's item since singles are usually limited print runs.

Unfortunately, we are now in the digital age. So many people these days never set foot in a music store to begin with. Instead, they cruise to the iTunes online store, SNOCAP stores, peer-to-peer networks, etc. Fill up those iPods, kiddies! Why buy two or three songs on a disc when you can bootleg the whole album for nothing?

Thankfully, some artists and labels still release singles. It's a lost art, but usually found where independents roam. With the growing interest in vinyl among the younger crowds in the past few years, we may see a resurgence in vinyl singles in the coming years. Of course, since the mainstream music industry (see: The Big Four) are a pack of phenomenal morons, that particular train will most likely blow right past them.



>I'd be that prick of a recording artist to only release music on vinyl. I'll let you know if I ever make it big.
>No actual content here either; so sue me.